"Uh… Hey Pepper?" The twenty three year old turned her head around to face her roommate, Nina. They met in college, and now that they both graduated, they put their money together to get an apartment in Boston. Pepper fell in love with the city as soon as she arrived there; after living in New York all her life, a big city was exactly the place she was looking for in her early adulthood.

"Yeah Nina?" Her roommate was Italian; if you couldn't already tell that by her name, you could tell by her appearance. Her sun kissed skin, long, dark, curly hair, and chocolate eyes were her best features. Pepper was almost the exact opposite of her; straight, red hair that was shorter than her roommate's (it only went a couple inches past her shoulders), skin that was a little more on the fair side, and hazel eyes. Yet, the two were best friends.

"Uhm… would you be very upset if I told you I set you up on a blind date?" pepper groaned, hitting her head against their kitchen table. It was only about ten o'clock on a Saturday morning, so the two were free from work. She really didn't need her friend pestering her about her love life on her day off..

"Yes, I would be very upset…" Nina took a deep breath. "So then, you'd be ridiculously pissed if I told you I entered you on a reality dating show…?" She mumbled the last part quite quietly, muffling it by taking a sip of her coffee at the same time. Guess it wasn't unclear enough; because Pepper heard it very clear.

"WHAT?!" Nina cringed, and after swallowing, placed her cup down on the table with a shaky hand. "I didn't tell you at first because I didn't know if they would accept you because I mean, come on; they receive, like, thousands of applicants each season! But, yesterday I got a letter in the mail saying you were one of the few chosen to participate…"

Pepper took in a few deep breaths, regaining her cool composure before talking. "…Why must you mess with my personal life?!" Her friend sighed before twirling the diamond proposal ring on her finger.

"Me and Riley are getting married in just over half a year… don't you think you should start considering more guys in your life? The only serious relationshiop you've ever been in was with Tony. I don't want you to be lonely and unloved..." Yes, yes… Tony Stark.

The boy had been Pepper's best friend for the longest time. Her, a boy named Rhodey, and THE Tony Stark were best friends. They had been inseparable those years of high school they spent together. They had a lot of good memories together; between school, AIM, the armory, Gene AKA the Mandarin, SHIELD, and all the other villains. All this because of Iron Man… she had kept her promise and hadn't told anyone about him, not even Nina.

She would by lying if she said that she and Tony didn't have a thing. They hadn't gone out because of his takeover of Stark International, which was evident once he turned eighteen. They did have something, though… Pepper smiled, reminiscence of those years. It was almost like a kind of pull; they were just attracted to each other, simple as that. Even after they parted ways and lost contact with each other, she still kept an eye on Iron Man every time he saved the world.

She also kept an eye on Tony Stark, CEO of Stark International. He had gained quite a reputation; a well know ladies man, or in other words… a man whore. Pepper had stayed in touch with Rhodey, or as he was now called General James Rhodes. He was currently in a military base somewhere in the south working on some new government experiment, and would be back in a few months.

"I would be loved, not necessarily by a guy, but by my family and friends!" She looked at her friend's guilty eyes; regret for yelling at her friend for trying to help ran through her mind. She sighed and ran one of her hands through her hair, disheveling it a bit as she did so.

"What… what is the show anyway?" her friend's face brightened up a bit, knowing that when Pepper started to question things she was reconsidering something.

"The bachelor! And this season is special… it's a celebrity season! They haven't released any information on which celebrity it is, though… all I know is that he's around your age, give or take a year or two."

Pepper wrinkled her nose. "What are the details for the show?" Nina smiled, glad her friend was thinking it over. "There are ten girls including you, and obviously, then there's the bachelor. You have to compete in different challenges, and if you win one, you get an alone date with the Bachelor. Each week, a girl is voted off by him, and then the final week it comes down to the last two girls; then, he picks one to go out on a first real date with. Sounds cool, huh?!"

Pepper sighed. "If you say so… Hey, when is this thing anyway?" Nina's smile faltered while she took another sip out of her coffee mug.

"Um… you have to be in New York City at three… today…" Pepper's eyes widened. "WHAT?!" Her friend flinched. "I was trying to find a way to tell you, but I was afraid you were gonna hurt me…"

"What do I need?! What do I wear?! Do I need money? Clothes that will last me for nine weeks?! Nina!" Her friend laughed. "So are we doing this?" Pepper pondered for a moment.

"Eh, Why not?"

Pepper and Nina dragged three suitcases out of Nina's sports car, rolling them into the 'house' (that's what the manager of the show called it) they would be staying at. It was a three story, modern type house with Ivy growing along the walls and flowers lining the walkway to the front door.

"Wow, its pretty here!" Nina admitted while the two entered into the building. A few other girls were already there, all of them in the common room and idly chatting and gossiping.

"Hey, new roomie!" One of them shouted while getting up and running over to Pepper. She had beach blonde hair that was in a side ponytail and was sporting a red tank top and jean mini skirt. She had a bubbly aura surrounding her, Pepper noticed, and she looked like she was generally interested in meeting Pepper.

"Hi! I'm Katie, Katie Black! It's nice to meet you…" She asked, hoping to get a name. "Patricia. Patricia pots. But everyone I know calls me Pepper." This Katie character squealed. "Oh, how adorable!" A brunette girl wth layered hair in an orange sundress got up off the couch and walked over to her, a pleasant smile on her face.

"Hi Pepper. I'm Olivia." She greeted shyly. Pepper smiled, "Likewise. So, do I have a room, or something?" The third girl on the couch got up and strut over to her. She was a beautiful Asian girl with straight bangs right above her eyes and hair that probably went to the middle of her back.

"I'm Jade, and yes. Any room on the second or third floor can be yours! Those are the rooms we'll live in, and the kitchen and living room and stuff are on this floor. Come down and talk with us once you get settled!" She said with a girly giggle.

"Yeeeeaaaahhhhh…" Nina said, making the word extreme long and sounding extra awkward and kind of like she didn't belong here. "Oh! This is Nina. Here, why don't we bring my stuff upstairs?" Nina nodded, eying the superficial looking girls before they descended up the stairs.

After briefly unpacking in Pepper's room (which had its own bathroom, walk in closet, and queen sized bed), they gave each other a huge hug. "I'm going to miss you so much…" Nina breathed into her friends shoulder. Pepper smiled. "I'm sure Riley will keep you plenty of company while I'm gone. Plus, I won't be here for long. 9 weeks if I don't get voted off before then."

Nina laughed and broke away from their hug. "I know…" Pepper smiled reassuringly. "Come on, I'll walk you outside." The two friends did just that, and Pepper sadly waved good bye as her friend pulled out of the personal parking lot. She walked back inside and rejoined the three girls (plus the addition of four more) in the living room.

"Oh! Pepper, this is Amber…" Katie pointed to a girl with short, chin length auburn hair.

"Ivy…" She motioned to a pale girl with long, ebony hair that reached the middle of her back and piercing, green eyes.

"Dani…" She shifted her raised hand to a tall girl with brown hair that went to her shoulder and oceanic eyes.

"And Stacey." The last girl had dirty blonde hair that she were up with a bubble in the front, her face caked with heavy make up. Instead of offering a 'hello' or friendly smile like the other girls, she just offered a light snarl and turned around to look at her nails.

Pepper waved at the other girls and took a seat on one of the white couches next to Olivia. There were at least two camera guys in the room, getting their conversation and introductions on tape.

"Pepper? What an interesting name." Dani stated in a soprano voice. "Nickname, actually. My real name's Patricia, but it's so… boring. Everyone I know calls me pepper." The other girls nodded and started the conversation again. Pepper couldn't help but feel like she didn't quite fit in with this picture… all the other girls were skimpy clothes and had spray-on tan skin. Not that Pepper herself was pale, she just wasn't as dark as the other girls who looked like they practically lived at the beach.

Pepper herself was wearing jean short shorts, black pumps and a purple tank top. Okay, so maybe it was a little skimpy. But she wasn't showing more cleavage and bare skin then need like the other girls were. Yes, it was summer. So what? Doesn't mean you shouldn't degrade yourself by wearing revealing clothing.

After two more girls arrived (Nicole, a timid pale girl with light brown hair and Lola, a rather bitchy dark blonde), they chatted some more, made themselves some dinner (No carobs, of course. Pepper hated the rather tasteless flavor, but whatever) and got into their PJ's, they re-met in the living room again.

Pepper couldn't help but notice how different all the other girls looked with out all their 'feminine products'. It looked like their hair was deflated because of the lack of hairspray, and a lot of the girls had covered themselves more than they were wearing before. Pepper, herself, had her hair in a messy bun and was wearing a black camisole that showed a bit of her mid drift and pink Sophie's that were rolled up several times so they were…rather short.

The other girls didn't look too different from Pepper, although some had on loose Tees and nightgowns. The red head smiled to herself; maybe these girls were more normal then they seemed.

"Knock Knock!" A voice came from the front door. In walked the host of the show: Robin McCoy, a peppy blonde woman in her mid thirties, a camera crew of around three people behind her. "Oh, don't you girls just look darling! Glad you're all dolled up to meet who this season's Bachelor is!"

A few girls screamed from excitement, a few others from embarrassment, and the rest just because the others were screaming. Pepper, Olivia, and Nicole were the only ones not damaging everyone else's ears, and were laughing just because the other girls seemed so… fangirl-ish. Seriously? They were all in their twenties, not teens!

"Yes, I know! Riveting, isn't it; why don't you come in? Girls, I'd like you to meet our celebrity bachelor!"

In walked a man with a chiseled face and a pair of sharp, azure eyes, his hair a tad messy to the point where it looked perfect. He was wearing black suit pants and a white dress shirt that had the top two buttons undone. A crooked smirk was on his face, and it was absolutely breath taking on his tanned skin and muscled, yet slightly lean physique. Pepper couldn't say this man wasn't handsome, because in fact, he was probably one of the most handsome men she had ever met in her life. He looked undeniably familiar, though…

"Tony Stark?" The twenty-three year old blinked at Pepper before offering a curiously charming lop sided grin.

"Pepper Pots?"

A/N NEW STORY! How do you like so far? I really want to keep this going, so please review and tell me what you think (if it's a good/lame/bad/weird/cool fic). Much is appreciated!

This is my second IMAA story, as well as my second multi-chapter story on fanfiction. I'm still kind of new to all of this, so constructive criticism for this or 'How Far Can a Bet Go' is welcome!